What's my activity level?

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leslienicole318
leslienicole318 Posts: 86 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I teach a class of 12 3 year olds at a daycare. I don't sit all day long, but I do have moments of sitting. 8:30 to 10:30 I pretty much walk around or stand the entire time. Depending on the day, I may stay walking around until their nap time (12-2), but other days I'll generally sit from 10:30 to 12. I do have to get up and down and walk some during that time to make sure everything is going smoothly. Then I completely sit from 12-1 during my lunch break. I mostly sit from 1-2 while the kids are still napping, but I do a few minutes here and there of walking around during that hour. From 2 to 3:30 I'm mostly standing/walking around (and I do an exercise I like to call "putting up 12 dang nap cots all by myself for 15 minutes while shaking kids awake to get up") 3:30 to 5:30 I do sitting/standing/walking depending on the day, a pretty even mix I guess. At home, some nights I'll spend 3 hours cooking and cleaning and others I'll lay down the entire time. Weekends are pretty lazy. How would yall classify my activity level? I have no idea how many steps I take and my phone doesn't track them. Do y'all think I'd be sedentary or lightly active?

Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    I would say definitely not sedentary.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    I'd start with "sedentary", then if it seems like you're losing faster than expected, either pay yourself on the back or set it to lightly active. Better to underestimate activity than overestimate
  • CafeRacer808
    CafeRacer808 Posts: 2,396 Member
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    Sounds like "lightly active" to me. But as @rosebarnalice states, it's better to underestimate activity than overestimate, so maybe start with "sedentary" and see how you do.
  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
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    I would say lightly active.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited January 2017
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    No way in heck are you sedentary.

    1) <5000 steps/day (sedentary);
    2) 5000-7499 steps/day (low active = "lightly active");
    3) 7500-9999 steps/day (somewhat active);
    4) > or =10,000-12,499 steps/day (active); and
    5) > or =12,500 steps/day (highly active)
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14715035

    MFP's levels are actually a bit lower than this. Sedentary here is closer to 3,000 steps/day and I hit "active" when my FitBit gets to about 8,000 steps.

    If you want to be sure not to overestimate, start at "lightly active" and watch your weight for a few weeks. When you're losing weight faster than expected (as I strongly suspect will be the case), increase your activity level until you find the one that gives you the weight loss you expect based on your target deficit.
  • leslienicole318
    leslienicole318 Posts: 86 Member
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    Thanks for all the help you guys! I downloaded a step tracker app (though not sure about the accuracy of it lol) and I've kept my phone in my pocket all day to track my steps. I've been up since 7:30 and it's now 12 and I'm at 4068 steps, although 30 minutes were spent sitting in the car in the way to work, so 4068 steps in about 4 hours. Think I'll go with lightly active and see how I lose with that for a month and adjust from there!!
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,927 Member
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    You are between lightly active and active. Over 7500 steps on MFP starts exceeding lightly active.

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